News &amp; Features - January 2010

Children from the Maple Terrace Apartments check out the newly remodeled Maple Terrace Kids Club on Wednesday evening. The program was started to give the kids from the low-income apartment community a place to study and learn. Program coordinators were able to remodel the facility with excess rents provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Stansberry Elementary School third graders, back from right to left, Tobin Armstrong, 9, Annabell Ballard, 9, Syd Boxley, 9, Jason Case, 9, and Josh Bush, 8, pick up their lunches from server Donna Keenan, right, who was utilizing new biodegradable trays in place of the Styrofoam ones the school used to use.

Four-year-old Shelby Peterson, left, and his brother, Oakley, 11, work together Tuesday afternoon to open a channel in a large patch of ice so that water can flow freely and not freeze up at 12th Street and Cleveland Avenue in Loveland.

Stansberry Elementary School students eat lunch together in the school's cafeteria. At left is Jeremy Shomers, 9, and back from left are Colton Harris, 10, Dusty Berglund, 10, and Vance Zscheile, 9, whose lunch was served using a biodegradable tray that's new to the school.

Stansberry Elementary School fourth grader Vance Zscheile, 9, eats his lunch Tuesday in the school's lunchroom that was served on a biodegradable tray.

Stansberry Elementary School students look at a sign in the lunchroom which has the old Styrofoam and new biodegradable lunch trays and also an area marked out on the floor representing how much trash the school generates over 3-4 days from their lunch period.

From left, Millie Ternasky, Doni McClellen and Bruce Bergquist rehearse their lines for the upcoming play "Painting Churches" on Sunday in the musicians room at The Rialto Theatre. The Rialto, originally built for silent movies in 1920, doesn't have the area to house changing facilities so the city is considering its options to expand into adjacent buildings.

Foreman Mick Schuhmacher of SEMA Construction talks with Tim Dikeman, out of frame, on Monday as the two work on a bridge just east of mile marker 66 on U.S. 34 near Estes Park.

Superintendent Ken Grossman of SEMA Construction attaches a chain to a bucket of a backhoe that will lift temporary supports for a bridge on Monday just east of mile marker 66 on U.S. 34 near Estes Park. The bridge is one of two in the canyon that will be replaced starting in February. Much of the prep work for the replacement is being done in advance to shorten the time that U.S. 34 will be closed.

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Ron Surace uses a watermark fluid while demonstrating how to reveal the hidden watermark on a stamp as an aid in identification.

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One of Ron Surace's collectibles related to stamp collecting is a cover that was delivered by American aviator Charles Lindbergh who was an air mail carrier in the 1920s.

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Ron Surace also collects various old covers and letters he comes across while searching through items looking for stamps.

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Johnstown resident Ron Surace looks through a book containing some of his stamp collection. Surace started collecting stamps while he was in his 20's as a form of relaxatioin and said he enjoys how he can learn about history through the hobby.

Lew Gaiter and his wife, Jeanette, sit together in their Fort Collins home as they describe their feelings about Lew's recent selection as a Larimer County Commissioner. He replaces 11-year veteran commissioner Kathay Rennels who resigned in late December with one year left in her term to take a job at Colorado State University.

Heather Hafer of Loveland comforts her daughter Sally after the one year old received her H1N1 booster shot as her father Richard Hafer, left, and vaccinator Savannah Bennett, center, talks the Hafer's son Remy, 4, into the flu mist option. Sunday's clinic at Fossil Ridge High School marked Larimer County's final H1N1 clinic.

Ten-year-old Sam Foster, right, and his sister, Alana, 4, wait while their dad, Ben, uses the self-checkout machine to check out their books on Saturday at the Loveland Public Library.

Brenda Santillanes practices with her horse, Mae, at the Lonsum Peak Equestrian Center to get ready for showing at the National Western Stock Show in Denver.

Loveland resident Leah Santillanes, front, works with her horse, Lacie, while Leah's mother, Brenda, works with her horse, Mae, during a practice session Saturday at the Lonsum Peak Equestrian Center in preparation for the upcoming National Western Stock Show in Denver.

Sterling Myers shows off his toy trains from the early part of the 20th Century at his home in Berthoud. Myers collects the trains but also takes the 50 plus hours every holiday season to set a scene up for neighborhood and church kids.

Sterling Myers train set includes carnival scenes and scenes from trainyards from the early 20th Century.

Jeff Caputo, left, and Drew Crecca of the Loveland Parks Department make mulch of Christmas Trees on Monday afternoon at Centennial Park. The crew, which chipped 800 trees on a previous day, hoped to chip 1,150 Christmas Trees by the end of the day.

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Employees from the City of Loveland's Water Department dig through pavement in the 500-block of 29th St. on Thursday to gain access to a 16-inch water pipe that had sprung a leak.

Lew Gaiter hugs his wife, Jeannette, after the Larimer County Republican Central Committee selected him as the new Larimer County Commissioner at Ridgeview Classical School in Fort Collins on Thursday night.

Jeff Stock of Loveland attaches wheels to a recycling cart at the Loveland Water Treatment Plant on Nov. 29.

Nate Holstege of Loveland piles a recycling cart atop thousands of others on Nov. 29 at near the Loveland Water Treatment Plant as he and other members of the Larimer County Sheriff's workender crew assemble the carts for the upcoming single-stream program in which Lovelanders can mingle theier plastics, paper and glass recyclables.

Chris Golding, 18, left, and Colleen Neuschwanger, 17, check out the paint booth at the new Aims Automotive Technology center in Windsor on Wednesday night. The $7.3 million facility quadruples the amount of space that Aims Community College had at its former facility and more than doubles the college's capacity for students to about 200 per semester, according to program director Fred Brown.

Larimer County Commissioner candidate Gail Meisner, standing, answers a question during a forum at the Leeper Community Center in Wellington to help the Larimer County Republican Central Committee decide who it will pick to fill the county commissioner seat vacated by Kathay Rennels. Also visible, from left, is moderator and Chairman of the Larimer County Republican Party Larry Carillo, and fellow candidates Eric Kronwall, David Bee, Sean M. Dougherty, Lew Gaiter III, Andrew Boucher, John Clarke and Curtis Bridges, at right.

A crowd listens to candidates for the vacant Larimer County Commissioner seat during a candidate forum Tuesday night at the Leeper Community Center in Wellington. Some members of the crowd are members of the Larimer County Republican Central Committee who will appoint the new commissioner.

Anne Ochs of Loveland found the random kindness of strangers while in line to pay at Walgreens. She couldn't pay the over $230 bill for her two heart medications so the couple behind them stepped forward to do it for her.

Cars move past a Mustang on a flat-bed tow truck at 9019 W. U.S. 34 where the car and a Volvo SUV collided on Monday afternoon. The Mustang was traveling eastbound on U.S. 34 from a sunny patch to a shady and icy patch of the road. The car slid and collided with the Volvo. The driver of the Mustang was extricated and taken to McKee Medical Center along with the passenger. Four people in the Volvo were also taken to McKee.

A shady and icy patch of road is visible near 9019 W. U.S. 34 on Monday. A motorist traveling eastbound hit the patch of ice and collided with a westbound vehicle.

Motorists wait on West U.S. 34 as emergency crews clear an accident that happened about a half mile east of Sylvandale Guest Ranch on Monday afternoon. The accident stopped both directions of traffic for nearly two hours.

Sue Patterson, right, had a stroke nearly one year ago on January 15. She couldn't walk or talk. Her sister Cheri Millmen helps her build her strength in the walking lane at the Chilson Recreation Center pool. Patterson is only able to manage 3-4 stairs at a time but her goal is to climb the stairs that lead to the rec center slide and splash her way back to recovery.

Elise Frucci of Loveland works out Sunday at the Chilson Recreation Center. Frucci says she didn't make any New Years resolutions but is working out three times a week to look her best at her July wedding.

Sergio Feliciano of Loveland walks down Cleveland Avenue amidst snow flurries on his way to work on Sunday. The flurries didn't last that long or collect and today's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with highs from 35 to 40 degrees.

Judy Coons, left, and Roger Warden share a moment on Dec. 17 at the Associated Veterans Club of Loveland. The club has struggled recently and hopes to recover to become an integral part of the community that it has been in years past.

A cork bobber attached to Courtney Lower's fishing line floats on the water in a hole drilled through the ice at Lake Loveland where she was fishing on Saturday.